Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Lloyds Bank PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P lost £75,000 after being contacted through social media about an investment opportunity, making three payments to an online stockbroker to purchase recommended stocks that subsequently declined in value. He complained to Lloyds Bank PLC seeking a refund, claiming he was the victim of a scam. Lloyds had intervened on the first two payments, speaking to Mr P by phone and warning him about investment scams, but Mr P denied being contacted on social media during these calls. The ombudsman found that Lloyds took appropriate fraud prevention measures and that Mr P provided misleading information during the intervention calls, and therefore did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Although Lloyds has a regulatory duty to protect customers from fraud through monitoring and intervention, the bank did intervene on the first two payments and asked appropriate questions about the purpose and circumstances of the payments. The ombudsman found that Mr P provided inaccurate information during these calls, denying social media contact when he had in fact been contacted that way. Even if Lloyds had asked more probing questions, Mr P would likely have continued to provide misleading information, and therefore the bank would not have identified significant concerns that would have prevented the payments. The warnings about investment scams that were given did not deter Mr P from proceeding.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website